


Roll the die (hope to win)

by ayazuri



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: ...not overwhelmingly much angst, Eames' Stupid Cupid 2021, M/M, POV Second Person, a bit - Freeform, and i mean both limbo and second person POV, because there's always a pinch of angst with me, but I swear it's not sad or bad, experimental fic, i promise there's no angst here, limbo fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29436414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayazuri/pseuds/ayazuri
Summary: In which Limbo can take many forms and sometimes, just sometimes, it has a lot in common with a board game.
Relationships: Arthur/Eames (Inception)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15
Collections: Eames' Stupid Cupid 2021





	Roll the die (hope to win)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FinelyDressedSpacemen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinelyDressedSpacemen/gifts).



> So this one is a bit of an experiment. Ever since I saw my prompt for this, I was hooked on the idea of taking it and playing with it a bit. I aimed to not make it overly heavy and angsty (I tried).  
> I really hope you like it, dear Finelydressedspacemen, even though it might not be exactly what you were expecting ;)
> 
> Prompt: board games

*

‘’Wake up.’’ 

The voice of a stranger says and you do.

*

Everything is the same as it should be.

Or rather, everything is the same as always. You don’t really know if it should or shouldn’t be this way. 

*

There’s something wrong with the world. 

Something’s just not right in this subtle, barely noticeable way. It’s easy to miss if you don’t pay attention. 

But you don’t know what exactly is wrong. Or maybe you don’t want to know.

*

The thing is, you  _ think  _ that it’s always been this way. 

You roll the die and let it guide you, steer your every step. 

*

The die is red and it’s very important, you know it is. But you can’t remember why.

*

There are rules, you know there are.

The problem is, the rules are always changing. Each number means something else, a different set of actions. Each number triggers a different reaction. But the meaning of the numbers changes with every throw. 

Sometimes when the die lands on one, it means that someone’s waiting to meet you. And so you go where the die tells you to go. 

It always does that, always shows you where you should be.

Usually, it’s your sister that wants to see you. She’s the only one in your family that truly and genuinely understands you and that’s why you love her the most. Her name is Hollie and she’s six years younger than you, and you know that if anything was to happen to her the world would surely end. 

But she’s here, with the sincere glint in her eyes, she’s very much alive, and the way she squeezes your hand makes you think that there’s no other place on Earth you’d rather be.

*

It’s not like you can actually be somewhere else. You can’t.

The city, it’s finite. Limited. Like a gaming board - you can only live and travel within its borders. Unlike the meaning of the dots, that one rule never changes. 

But that’s fine. You were born and raised here, you know every street and every corner like the back of your hand.

You were born and raised here and this is exactly where you should stay.

*

‘’Wake up.’’

The voice of a stranger says and you do.

*

The city is finite and you’ve never left it.

Yet sometimes you dream about faraway places and familiar-unfamiliar faces, dreams within dreams and exotic seas, the scorching heat of African sun and the cotton candy hue of the Californian sunset.

It all seems real, it’s like you’ve been there, in all those places. But it can’t be real because you’ve never left your city.

*

The red die isn’t yours. 

It’s only borrowed and eventually you will have to return it. 

Sometimes you think that you probably should start looking for the owner but you don’t know where to start.

You roll the die and let it steer your fate.

*

The die lands on five and tells you to go visit your father. 

He’s an old and spiteful man, a lawyer and a businessman, and seeing him makes you remember why you wanted to spite him by joining the military. 

It feels like the die is punishing you.

*

Hollie convinces you to play a game with her.

She sets up the board and the game tokens and explains the rules. You try to focus and memorise all the things she says but find yourself distracted after two sentences. 

‘’Are you ready?’’ She asks.

‘’Yes.’’ You answer even though you’re not.

Hollie throws her die and it lands on six. She moves the token, draws a card and reads the instruction on it.

‘’Oh nice!’’ she exclaims. ‘’I can double my move!’’

Her token travels another six squares forward. You throw your die - but not the red one, it’s tucked safely in your pocket.

The die tells you to stay still.

*

‘’Wake up.’’

The voice of a stranger says.

‘’I’m awake.’’ You answer.

‘’No, you’re not,’’ the stranger counters. ‘’But I’m coming for you.’’

*

Only now you realise you actually know this voice. You know it very well.

*

The painting in the living room is a forgery. You know because you painted it yourself. 

In the second drawer of your desk you find three passports. They’re all yours but you have a different name in each of them. You made them yourself.

*

The stranger has a face and you know that face by heart.

Every line on it, the way his lips curl when he smiles, the way his eyes darken when you kiss him. You know he carries a gun with him wherever he goes and has a tattoo on his left shoulder blade. He graduated from Yale a year earlier than his peers and killed at least ten people. He always laughs when you tell a joke and there’s love in his laugh.

But most importantly, he came here to free you.

‘’Do you remember your name?’’ He asks you.

‘’It’s James.’’

‘’Not anymore.’’

And you know he’s right.

*

The die lands on two.

‘’What will happen when it lands on three?’’ Hollie asks, her eyes focused on the red cube and the two white dots on it. You pick it up and hide it in your pocket. 

‘’You will leave me.’’

She doesn’t deny.

*

You roll the die over and over again but it never lands on three.

*

‘’The die,’’ you whisper. ‘’It’s yours, isn’t it?’’

The stranger nods.

‘’What will happen when it lands on three?’’ you ask.

‘’It won’t.’’ The stranger answers. ‘’Not here.’’

*

You remember now.

You hated your father so much, and to spite him you decided to join the military. Becoming a lawyer, just like him, seemed like the worst punishment and you swore to never ever follow in his footsteps. 

You didn’t  _ just  _ want to join the military.

You actually  _ did  _ it.

*

You remember that one too, even though you don’t want to remember.

Hollie died the stupidest death, hit by a car while crossing the street. The driver was so drunk he could barely speak. 

You’d surely have killed him if only you could get out of bed.

*

Your name was James, but it was a long time ago.

*

‘’Eames.’’

The stranger says, except he’s no stranger. 

He’s Arthur, your lovely and beautiful darling Arhtur, and he came for you, all the way down to this shithole of a dream.

‘’Yes darling?’’ you ask and your voice cracks.

Arthur smiles and takes your hand.

‘’It’s time to wake up.’’

*

Arthur’s voice tells you to wake up and you do.

*

The die lands on three. It will never land on three in a dream.

That’s how you know you’re not dreaming anymore.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Come and say hi on tumblr ;)


End file.
